BCM Community

I got back late last night from the Bendix air brake training class in Chicago.  Overall the instructor was very good and really knew his stuff on air brakes.  I do wish the class had focused a little bit more on the wheel end stuff particularly adjusting things to the proper stroke and all that.  The class should really be named Air systems and Air brakes class or something like that as they spend more time on the compressor, governor, air dryer, valves, and ABS than they do on the foundation brakes.  (I do understand that a three day class isn't going to make me an expert mechanic on air brakes.)

Overall, the $600 or so I spent on the class and trip was worth it.  If you have DD3 or even older air brake systems you won't get quite as much out of the class as it is obviously geared towards modern systems with spring brakes.  ABS has been required for about 15 years now so they spent three or four hours on ABS along with stability and traction control.

I did learn that auto slacks should never be manually adjusted.  There is a problem with something if they have to be manually adjusted.  I had to manually adjust one on my last trip last Fall.  The place that did my brakes last year simply adjusted that brake when I got back.  I suspect I would have problems within 1000 miles again unless someone figures out what is really wrong.

Wayne (Rusty) and I attended the same class several years ago and my comments would echo yours. 

That said, we did spend some "break time" with the instructor and got some good information related to bus systems.

Brian, auto slack adjusters are not all that expensive and are easy to replace.  Don't take a chance.

Even though I have auto slack adjusters, I always check my adjustments before every major trip.  When I got my bus, one of the adjusters was bad and was close to "caming" over.

Jim

Quote from: rv_safetyman on June 08, 2012, 12:20:33 PM
Brian, auto slack adjusters are not all that expensive and are easy to replace.  Don't take a chance.

Even though I have auto slack adjusters, I always check my adjustments before every major trip.  When I got my bus, one of the adjusters was bad and was close to "caming" over.

As you say, automatic slack adjusters don't replace having to check adjustments on brakes.  My issue is the auto slack on that brake was replaced when I bought the bus six years ago and has about 30,000 miles on it.  The shop I used last summer/fall replaced the chamber on that brake.  I suspect it may have more to do with that then the slack adjuster.  The Bendix guy did say that auto slack adjusters work very well and rarely fail.  Bendix has an auto slack with a 1 million mile unlimited time warranty on it.

I will say the new air disk brakes are really cool.  Much easier to maintain and keep in spec.

Bendix air disc brakes are cool they are a lot better than 5 years ago since they bought Knorr of Germany best heavy duty disc brakes on the market the Knorr